Portrait Session: Henry & Sam

A good friend of mine commissioned me to take photos of her husband and son.  Seems he is the family photographer, so he is rarely in the photos!  We spent about an hour together.  Sam, the beautiful, very photogenic toddler, has been watching way too many episodes of Next Top Model -- every time he heard the camera click, he changed poses. His dad realized that what Sam really wanted to do was go out and play, so I followed them as they kicked the ball around.  Sam is quite passionate about his soccer!  Finally caught the two of them as they rested under a tree.  The key to success:  keep shooting!  The action was changing quickly, and I knew if I kept clicking I would get some lovely spontaneous shots that showed the little guy's lively personality and the trusting bond between father and son.  

Encaustic Photos On View @ RiverWInds Gallery

It's always very satisfying, when you complete a series, to see them hung all together -- 17 of them! I have been working on Into the Woods - a portfolio of photos mounted on board and coated with encaustic (which is beeswax and damar resin.  There's a longer description of the process in one of my August blogs.)  The sizes are intimate:  5x5, 8x8, 10x10.

One artist, a painter, noted that the encaustic adds atmosphere to the images, a soft, floating quality.  I also like that the image stands alone -- no mat, glass, frame.  The series is in the front room of  my gallery, RiverWinds, in Beacon, NY, through this weekend.  After that, it will move but stay within the gallery - www.riverwindsgallery.com.  Below are some of the images.

Beacon Open Studios This Weekend

Beacon Open Studios is this weekend - September 24 and 25 - from 12-6 - all around Beacon, NY.  I will be sharing a truck at Truck City with Jennifer Konig, where we will be displaying our dazzling photos!  Truck City is on the corner of 9D and Main, in the parking lot for Spire Studios.  Maps can be obtained from my gallery, RiverWinds, at 172 Main Street, and at Hudson Beach Glass, our next door neighbor.  More than 60 artists are showing work -- should be a grand weekend for art.   For more information, check out www.beaconopenstudios.org.

Below are some of the images I will be selling.  The photos are attached to wood and have been coated with encaustic -- beeswax and resin.

2012 Calendar Preview:September & November

November -- Jordan Pond in Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor Maine

September, taken at Innisfree Gardens

Went to Grey Printing today to look at color proofs -- they look great. Still on schedule to have the calendar available this weekend for the Beacon Open Studios.  I'll be in Truck City, corner of 9D and Main Street, near Spire Studios.  And the calendar will be available at my gallery, www.riverwindsgallery.com.  Or leave a message on this blog.

Only $12 -- and they make great gifts for men, women, office colleagues, distant relatives, close relatives, people you love, people you don't like all that much but you feel obligated to get them something, etc.

2012 Calendar Preview::January & March

March:  Old Schoolhouse Road

January, natch.  This was taken outside Madison, Wisconsin when I was visiting my brother and his family.  Perfect snow, perfect light, perfect farmland.  And I didn't have to go more than 6 feet from the car to take the photos!  Perfect.

The calendar is being printed as we speak at Grey Printing in Cold Spring -- it will be available this coming weekend during the Beacon Open Studios -- Jennifer Konig and I are sharing a truck for our pop-up studio.  And the calendar will be available at my gallery, www.riverwindsgallery.com or just leave me a note on the blog.  It's a deal at $12.

2012 Calendar Preview: 2 More Months

A rose for February.

A wall in Pienza, Tuscany.  This is May.

The calendar will be, as always, printed by Grey Printing in Cold Spring, NY.    It is a desktop calendar, in a CD case that is also the stand, costs $12 and should  be available in about a week -- at Truck City September 24 & 25 during Beacon Open Studios, at my gallery, www.riverwindsgallery.com or contact me directly at by adding a comment to this blog.  Thanks!

2012 Calendar: Sneek Peak

I've been working on my 2012 desktop calendar -- it fits into a CD case.  I have been doing calendars since  2002.  This year's calendar is called Impressions.

For the third time, I'm including a View from Boscobel, but this year's June is a soft daylight view rather than a sunset vista.

This has got to be my best October yet!  We saw this house on Route 1 in Maine, coming home from Bar Harbor.

This beautiful sycamore tree is near my house amd will grace December.

My calendar can be purchased  -- for $12 -- at my truck during Beacon's Open Studios, September 24 and 25,  at RiverWinds Gallery year round www.riverwindsgallery.com.  or contact me directly via shotglassphoto@aol.com.

Highlights: Wappingers Falls

The village of Wappingers Falls is my home town these days.  These are a few of the notable sights.

Corner of Main and Market Street.  Side of building that had been a Mexican restaurant -- now For Rent.  The owner keeps the flag touched up and pristine.

This Madonna graces the Knights of Columbus building, abutting the bridge over the falls of Wappingers Creek, on Main Street.  The garland behind her has flowers and flags.  Nice touch.

Another view of the KofC window.  About half the year it is boarded up with plywood.  Breaking the glass is perhaps a local tradition:  after a couple of months of plywood, the KofC gets around to putting in new windows.  And then the cycle begins anew...

Fantastic Photo Tour of Basque Country - April 2012

It's time to have fun -- and sometimes you have to plan it in advance!  Christine Irvin and I have worked with Fresco Tours to offer a really fantastic photography  trip next April in the Basque country in the northeast corner of Spain.  This area has it all -- breathtaking vistas, great food, picturesque fishing villages, a portion of the most famous pilgrimage route - the Camino de Santiago, and really good wine. 

All you have to do is get yourself to Bilboa. Everything else is taken care of, so you can relax, concentrate on getting great photos, and enjoying this little-known but fantastic corner of Spain.  And the trip is organized so that non-photographer Significant Others will have just as wonderful an experience.

You don't have to just take my word for it --  for example, by Day 2 we are in San Sebastian:

From the New York Times Travel Section:

"WHAT is it about San Sebastián that has foodies reaching for superlatives (“culinary capital of Europe”; “best place to eat in the world”)? Maybe it was the French aristocracy, who imported their haughty chefs in the 19th century, turning this belle époque town on the Basque coast of northern Spain into an epicurean resort. Or maybe it's the food-rich geography, a scallop-shaped coastline sandwiched between the fertile sea and mountainous farmlands. And then there are the Basques themselves, who approach eating with the same fervor as they do soccer. Whatever the case, this laid-backsurfing resort is not for weak-willed dieters. There are sweet-smelling cafes and mouth-watering bites to tempt you at every turn — not to mention having one of the highest concentrations of Michelin stars in the world."

The price includes all meals, accommodations at charming but up-to-date hotels and transportation during the 7-day tour.  The tour features 2 professional photographers - Christine Irvin and I --  ensuring plenty of individual instruction during the daily critiques.   Participants will also have their work featured in a book and in a gallery show at RiverWinds Gallery in Beacon, NY  upon our return! www.riverwindsgallery.com

The tour:  April 15-22, 2012. 

Price: 2,500 EUR is approx. 3,615 USD (USD price as of July 25, 2011) includes meals, accommodations, transportation during tour

Contact us for more information:  shotglassphoto@aol.com  845-632-2174

For full itinerary and to sign up: check out  www.frescotours.com/tours_basque_light.asp

Beauty of Dappled Light

Dappled light can be problematic -- cameras have a hard time handling a wide tonal range from dark darks to light lights.  But when it works, it's lovely.

Both these images were taken in Maine last October.

The trick, perhaps, is to just take the photo, and then see what magic can be wrought with Photoshop or Lightroom!

These images and others are available at my gallery, www.riverwindsgallery.com or from my websited, www.maryannglass.com.

Looking for a great photography trip next year?  Christine and I are leading a photography tour of the Basque country in northeastern Spain next April.  For more details, check out my website www.maryannglass.com or www.frescotours.com.

A week in August

Part of the signage series: near Millbrook

Interior of lovely chapel at the Fountains at Millbrook, taken for a wedding brochure being developed

Taken down the road from the chapel

Luminous clouds after Irene moved through

Taken from my porch after Irene